The News-Item
NORTHUMBERLAND, Pa. — Richard A. Sinko said the theft charges filed against him, of which he’s now been all but completely cleared, put him through an emotional roller coaster for the past two years.
A district judge in May dropped two of the four charges and a county judge last week ordered the remaining two dismissed, and now Sinko simply hopes to restore his reputation.
“I’m living my life, holding my head up,” Sinko, 47, of Point Township, said by phone Tuesday. He said he’s letting people know, “If you get accused of something and you know for a fact you didn’t do it, you must fight, and you fight with everything your have. ... The truth will prevail.”
Sinko, former Sunbury assistant fire chief and Rescue Hose Company treasurer, maintains it was nothing more than a “witch hunt” that led to charges that he stole more than $2,300 in cash and building products belonging to the fire company in 2011 and 2012.
He said it started when he came across a theft at the fire company that he says was committed by his brother, Michael Wayne Hummel, 42, of Sunbury, and decided to turn him in.
“It was the hardest decision I had to make in my life,” he said.
But, “next thing I know,” Sinko said, he was being investigated. Though Sinko and his brother remain estranged because of the ordeal, it wasn’t Hummel who initiated the claims against him, he said.
Hummel was charged with three misdemeanors theft-related counts for allegedly stealing similar products and $1,106.15 in cash during the same time period. The district attorney’s office said Tuesday Hummel, who had waived his right to a preliminary hearing in April, is awaiting placement in the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program, through which defendants, upon successful completion, can have charges against them cleared from their record.
Thanks, but no thanks
Asked if he’d take up Sunbury Mayor David Persing’s offer, made in light of the dismissal of remaining charges, to come back to the fire department, Sinko laughed at first, then said, “It was a very nice gesture.”
He recounted how, after 32 years as a volunteer, he was put on suspension when the charges were filed, and that no one took a “wait-and-see outcome.”
“I never even had a chance to defend myself within the company or the department or at the city council level,” he said. “It hurts, because I gave so much time to the city.”
So his response to the mayor at this point is, “thanks, but no thanks.
Moving on
Sinko said his focus for now is to get his life, and his business, Sinko’s HVAC and Mechanical, which he said suffered greatly, back on track.
“I have no idea what’s going to happen in the future,” he answered as to whether he would pursue legal action in light of the outcome of his case.
Otherwise, Sinko said he’s moved on to work with the Northumberland Borough fire department, where he said he was accepted without question.
Putting a spin on his love of firefighting, he concluded, “It’s been hell, but I put the flames out.”
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